As the world’s first airline stewardess, war heroine, and aviation pioneer Ellen
Church (above) created a new and exciting profession for young girls of the
twentieth century. While working as a registered nurse in San Francisco, Ellen
was employed by Boeing Air Transport (BAT), the predecessor to United airlines
in 1930. she soon organized the pioneer group, "Sky Girls" (pictured below).The
eight girls, all registered nurses, were hired as stewardess on their flights for a
three-month trial run. It was the beginning of what other airlines thought at the
time to be a bold experiment.
The “Sky Girls”
The Boeing tri-motor
